That happens when somebody takes a penalty, squirms in the box as if he’s being interrogated by Chief Brenda Johnson of “The Closer” fame, and then wearily opens the door and skates back to the bench after San Jose scores.

Five times the Sharks scored on power plays in the first four games of this first-round series. It didn’t seem like such a big deal in Games 1-3, but then San Jose scored three power-play goals in four tries in Game 4, which sent this series back south with L.A. trailing 3-1.

Drew Doughty used the terms “dumb” and “stupid” to describe some of these infractions. As usual, coach Darryl Sutter protected the Kings’ shield and deflected the blame Friday morning.

Asked how difficult it is for players to recognize the thin border between aggression and transgression, Sutter said, “Both teams recognize it. There are three teams out there. Hopefully, all three of them do.”

The complaint was familiar. The officials handed out no tickets in the first period but then whistled the Kings three times in the second period.

“(Jamie) McBain had a penalty early in the third period. There’s nights when that would have been the only penalty,” Sutter said. “No penalties in the first period? Leave it alone. A good period.

“Quite honestly, some missed calls in the third period was my complaint. Call it the same the way you did when the game was 0-0. The officials go by the book. But, just like players, there’s a feel for the game that should come to it, obviously.”

Sutter said officiating has gotten younger in recent years and that “senior coaches,” presumably including himself, should serve as mentors in a sense. “They’re learning also,” Sutter said. “It’s like putting younger players in your lineup.”

But it’s not gentle advice, to be sure.

“That whole last game, we both had a good first period, then the referees get involved in the first 10 minutes of the second period,” Sutter said.

Penalties have their degrees, of course. A tripping call usually comes from the game’s fervor. But players are told to control their sticks, and in playoff situations they can’t surrender to their own anger. When the Ducks did so in their first two games against Nashville, Bruce Boudreau called them “selfish,” and he was right.

In Game 2, Lucic provided a charging penalty at the same time Tyler Toffoli was going off for roughing. That created a 5-on-3 that Logan Couture exploited for a goal.

Another roughing penalty, by Jeff Carter, set up Brent Burns’ goal in Game 4. Pavelski scored after a trip by Rob Scuderi, and Patrick Marleau got San Jose’s third goal after McBain high-sticked.

Two more sub-Phi Beta Kappa penalties came as the Kings were on their own power play. Doughty did it with a hook in Game 1, Carter with a slash in Game 2.

In Game 3, the Sharks had five power plays but the Kings eliminated them all, in somewhat epic fashion. Three of them — a high-stick by Marian Gaborik, a slash by Lucic and a slash by Tanner Pearson — were plainly undisciplined.

“We’ve been taking dumb penalties and that’s what they’re capitalizing on,” Doughty said. “They have a power-play unit that’s been around for too long. But it shouldn’t be tough as long as we play between the whistles. Lots of penalties have come in scrums and after the whistles, and that’s not what we need. We can play within the rules with emotion.”

“I’d give the Sharks a slight edge 5-on-5 in this series (five goals to four),” Scuderi said, “but it’s special teams that have made the difference. We have a good idea in place on the penalty kill, but we’re not executing it very well right now.”

Overall, the Sharks have had 16 man-advantages to the Kings’ 13. Even if you don’t give up goals, the penalties can corrode your chances. You wind up laying bigger minutes on the penalty-killers, who are often your best players, and your line sequencing gets out of whack. When teams “roll four lines,” they’re keeping everyone in rhythm. That becomes impossible with penalty-kill time.

Small samples, like playoff series, turn power plays into mountainous events. San Jose has a conversion rate of 27.8 through four games, but that ranks only fifth in the league. On the average, nearly one in five power plays winds up scoring (19.6) in this playoff season.

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